The ‘Star Wars’ fandom is spread over 3 different eras of movies, and countless books, comics, and animated television shows. They all have their fans, and each thing provides a unique contribution to the galaxy far, far, away. One lesser known piece of the fandom is something called ‘The Star Wars Holiday Special.’ However, it is not without its fans. ‘The Mandalorian’ showrunner (not to mention ‘The Clone Wars’ and ‘Solo’ voice actor) Jon Favreau remembers it, and wants to make another one.
‘The Holiday Special’ aired on CBS in 1978 – to mark the end of Star Wars’ extraordinary 18 month theatrical run. It focused on Chewbacca celebrating Life Day on his home planet of Kashyyyk. But there were other bits thrown in there too, like Bea Arthur as a bartender at the cantina, and an animated segment that introduced Boba Fett to the world before he was ever seen in ‘The Empire Strikes Back.’
Talking with Entertainment Tonight, Favreau talks about ‘The Holiday Special,’ and what it would take to do another one on the Disney+ streaming service:
“I was the one bringing ‘The Holiday Special’ to the table, that’s my generation. I love ‘The Holiday Special’ — certain sequences more than others — but I love the introduction of Boba Fett and that rifle that he had. That animated piece still holds up. It’s pretty cool. I draw inspiration from that. I would love to… someday maybe someday on Disney+ we’ll do a ‘Holiday Special,’ too. I gotta pitch that to them.”
Favreau then enlists the fans to help, as you can see in the video below, he points directly to the camera and says “If you wanna see a ‘Holiday Special,’ let Disney+ know.”
This doesn’t seem as impossible as it did 5 years ago. New Star Wars material will be made forevermore. Since 2015, Lucasfilm has produced a ton of new material, including two feature length spinoffs. Now with Disney+, not only are we getting live action TV series, such as ‘The Mandalorian,’ the Cassian Andor & K-2SO series, and an Obi-Wan Kenobi series, the service has the unique opportunity to do little inexpensive one-offs… like a new ‘Holiday Special.’ If anyone can make it happen, Favreau can. He is well practiced in trying to honor the old, while providing something new. Maybe that is just what ‘The Star Wars Holiday Special’ needs.
Source: Entertainment Tonight